Mental Health Conversations

Delivered October 7th, 2019. Contributors: KENNEDY W., Justin B., Blessed N., Rosalind R. and

Early FindingsMental Health Conversations

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Mental Health Conversations - Part 1

The key people leading the conversation about mental health are: Hilary Hendel, Natasha Tracy, Dr. Denise McDermott, and David Susman. 
HILARY HENDELHilary Handel is a social worker, a psychotherapist and the author of the award-winning book, "It’s Not Always Depression: Working the Change Triangle to Listen to the Body, Discover Core Emotions, and Connect to Your Authentic Self", who has also published articles on New York Times, Time and jrofessional Journals. 
Handel's website is here.
On Facebook Hendel uses the name Hilary Jacobs Hendel Author and Blogger.
On Twitter, she uses the handle @HilaryJHendel.
Hendel uses hilaryjacobshendel on her Instagram page. 
Handel uses the name Hilary Jacobs Hendel on her LinkedIn page. 
Hendel's YouTube channel is here. 
In one of her videos, she describes anxiety as one of the inhibitory emotions that prevents the core emotional experiences. 
NATASHA TRACYNatasha Tracy is an award-winning mental health writer and speaker who is suffering from bipolar disorder.
Tracy has written thousands of articles on Bipolar disorder and is the author of "Lost Marbles: Insights into My Life with Depression & Bipolar." 
Tracy's website is here.
Tracy's Twitter handle is @natasha_tracy.
On Facebook, Tracy's page is Bipolar Burble (@BipolarBurble).
Natasha Tracy's Instagram page is natasha_tracy_writer.
On a post on her website, Natasha Tracy discusses the correlation between bipolar disorder and mood self-monitoring. On this post she asserts that a people with bipolar disorder need to be aware of their moods in order to track them. She further gives an example of being anxious as one of the possible moods to be experienced. 
DR. DENISE McDERMOTTDr. Denise McDermott is a medical doctor with board certifications to be both adult and child psychiatrist. 
Dr. McDermott is an author, podcaster and mental health advocate. 
Dr. McDermott's website is here. 
Dr. McDermott's Facebook page is here. 
Dr. McDermott's Twitter handle @DrDeniseMD 
Dr. McDermott has 71,200 followers on Twitter. 
In one post one her Twitter page, anxiety is described to take many forms like panic attacks and phobias. 
In another post running is stated as one of the activities that can help treat anxiety. 
DAVID SUSMAN, PhD.Dr. Susman is a licensed clinical psychologist and mental health advocate. 
Dr.Susman is an assistant professor of psychology at the University of Kentucky. 
Dr. Susman has a load of experience spanning over 24 years and has helped thousands of patients with serious mental disorders and substance abuse. 
Dr. Susman's website is here. 
Dr. Susman's Facebook page is David Susman PhD (@DavidSusmanPhD) 
Dr. Susman's Twitter handle is @DavidSusman 
Dr. Susman's Instagram page is here. 
In an article on his website, Dr. David Susman writes the story of Laura Burton who was suffering from anxiety and depression as means of inspiration for people suffering from the same. 
In an article shared by Dr. Susman on his Facebook page, volunteering is describes as mechanism to deal with anxiety and stress.
RESEARCH STRATEGYYour team started by searching for articles or journals that listed the top influencers leading the conversation on mental health. Then we chose three lists and did a comparison and chose the influencers that appeared on two list or all the lists. We analyzed the profiles of the influencers in terms of their experience, academic qualifications and achievements that made them stand out to be top influencers. We also factored in the number of social media followers. 

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Mental Health Conversations - Part 2

Key people who are leading conversations about mental health include Tanya J. Peterson, Dennis Simsek, Jodi Aman, Douglas Cootey, and Miriam Slozberg. The blogs owned by Tanya J. Peterson, Dennis Simsek, and Jodi Aman have been listed on Healthline’s best anxiety blogs in 2019. The blogs owned by Douglas Cootey and Miriam Slozberg have been listed on Healthline’s best depression blogs in 2019.
TANYA J. PETERSON
Tanya J. Peterson’s website can be accessed via this link.
Peterson has 6,285 followers on Twitter.
Her blog called Anxiety-Schmanxiety by Healthy Place has been named one of the best anxiety blogs in 2019 by Healthline.
Her posts featured content such as reasons to reduce anxiety gradually, how stress causes stomach upsets, and other topics related to anxiety and stress.
Peterson has written three books that are related to mood, anxiety, or stress.
They include books that focused on post-traumatic stress disorder (Leave of Absence, published in 2013), mood swings (Twenty-Four Shadows, 2016), and mindfulness practices to help reduce anxiety (The Mindfulness Journal for Anxiety, 2018).
Leave of Absence was selected as one of the finalists in the National Indie Excellence Awards.
The US Review of Books gave Twenty-Four Shadows a “Recommended” rating.
DENNIS SIMSEK
Dennis Simsek’s website can be accessed via this link.
Simsek has 69,300 subscribers on YouTube.
His blog called The Anxiety Guy has been named one of the best anxiety blogs in 2019 by Healthline.
The Anxiety Guy featured content such as how to become an “anxiety warrior,” ways to relieve stress, and other topics related to anxiety and stress.
In 2018, Simsek published a book called Me VS Myself: The Anxiety Guy Tells All, which focused on “powerful practical ways on desensitizing yourself from your greatest internal and external fears.”
The book has received an average rating of 4.5 from 14 reviews on Goodreads.
The Anxiety Guy Podcast provides listeners with information to fight “anxiety disorder, hypochondria, and depression.”
The podcast has received an average rating of 4.8 from 627 reviews on iTunes.
JODI AMAN
Jodi Aman’s website can be accessed via this link.
She has 39,570 followers on Twitter.
Her blog called the Practical Miracles Blog has been named one of the best anxiety blogs in 2019 by Healthline.
Practical Miracles Blog featured content such as how resistance breeds anxiety,  sleep anxiety meditations, and other topics related to anxiety.
Aman has written three books that are related to anxiety or stress.
They include books that focused on ways to break free from anxiety (You 1 Anxiety 0: Winning Your Life Back from Fear and Panic, 2016) and information to combat anxiety and panic (Anxiety and Panic Workbook: Stop Stressing, Start Living, 2018).
In 2017, Aman published a coloring book called Keep Calm Coloring: Stop Stressing, Start Coloring.
You 1 Anxiety 0 is a best-selling book and has received an average rating of 4.15 from 39 reviews on Goodreads.
DOUGLAS COOTEY
Douglas Cootey’s website/blog can be accessed via this link.
He has 2,058 followers on Twitter.
On March 17, 2019, Cootey tweeted “if social media intensifies your #depression or #anxiety, take a break.”
On March 27, 2019, he tweeted that “showering and dressing up helps improve your mood.” 
His blog called A Splintered Mind has been named one of the best depression blogs in 2019 by Healthline.
A Splintered Mind featured content such as how stress may lead to suicidal depression, how viewing sunsets can help alleviate stress and depression, and other topics related to attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), depression, and suicide. 
Cootey has not written a book that focused specifically on mood, anxiety, or stress, but has published a book called Saying "No" to Suicide that featured several coping strategies to overcome suicidal urges.
MIRIAM SLOZBERG
Miriam Slozberg’s website/blog can be accessed via this link.
She has 15,919 followers on Twitter.
Slozberg has described herself as a depression advocate.
On June 6, 2018, she tweeted a link to an article that talked about overcoming flying anxiety.
 Slozberg’s blog has been named one of the best depression blogs in 2019 by Healthline.
Her blog featured content such as how to manage stress, anxiety, and depression during the holiday season, what Winter activities help to reduce symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress, and other topics related to mood, anxiety, and stress.
Slozberg has not written a book that focused specifically on mood, anxiety, or stress, but has published several books that talked about astronomy and death.

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Mental Health Conversations - Part 3

The additional 5 key people who are leading conversations about mental health include; Brien Blatt, Hattie Gladwell, Patrick J Kennedy, Jordan Brown and Claire Eastham. 
BRIEN BLATTBrien's website can be accessed here.
He has 46,500 followers on Twitter and 9,658 tweets.
He has an experience of living with mental health issues and therefore, he's always vocal, starting conversations to move the mental health narrative forward.
In one of his tweets, Brien encourages everyone to take care of their mental health, just like physical health.
Brien has authored an article on Schizoaffective disorder which is a mental illness of a combination of schizophrenia and a mood disorder.
HATTIE GLADWELLGladwell's website can be accessed here.
She has 38,300 followers on Twitter and 15,100 tweets.
In one of her articles, Gladwell states that health anxiety is not just in the head but it also affects one physically.
She also emphasizes that it is important enough to treat health anxiety since it's a serious mental illness.
PATRICK J KENNEDYPatrick's website can be accessed here.
He has 23,900 followers on Twitter and 5,963 tweets.
Patrick has authored a book by the title "A Common Struggle".
Attitude dictates the mood and according to Patrick, the real way to change attitudes is to change practices.
JORDAN BROWNJordan's website can be accessed here.
He has 22,500 followers on Twitter and 23,700 tweets.
In his blog "How to Fight anxiety and win the Battle of your Mind", Jordan states that anxiety can only be broken by action.
According to Jordan, anxiety is a beacon of hope where it shows the way forward but then instills in you the fear of whether you have what it takes to cross the frightful boundary.
CLAIRE EASTHAMClaire's website can be accessed here.
She has 18,400 followers on Twitter and 4,988 tweets.
Claire has authored an article on all the symptoms of anxiety as a mental illness, which she refers as 'A handy Anxiety Checklist'.
RESEARCH STRATEGYAccording to Jordan Brown, one of the key persons leading conversations about mental health and a founder of Nerve10, twitter has become a widely used social media platform for authentic mental health conversations. Therefore, after a wide search on various sites on top influencers leading the conversation on mental health, we decided to pick 5 key people with the highest number of followers on twitter, as our top influencers. After eliminating the already mentioned key people in Request 1 and 2, we considered the people with the highest number of followers from our three lists; Ten Mental Health Influencers You Should Be Following in 2019, Top Mental Health Influencers on Twitter and The Top Ten Mental Health Influencers On Twitter. 

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Mental Health Conversations - Part 4

Some additional key people who are leading conversations about mental health on their social media accounts, blogs, or printed books are Therese Borchard, Mark Henick, Dr. Jessica Clemons, Jonny Benjamin, and Dr. Alice Boyes. 
Jonny Benjamin Jonny Benjamin is a mental health advocate, campaigner, vlogger, public speaker, film producer, and author. He is also the founder of Beyond Shame Beyond Stigma, a mental health foundation in the United Kingdom that supports young people. 
Jonny Benjamin has authored numerous articles on the subject of mental health such as coping with stress, depression, and anxiety and has given interviews on print, radio, and TV to help spread awareness and break the stigma. He has also presented and produced documentaries on Channel 4 and BBC Three on suicide and mental health. 
Jonny Benjamin launched a program called ThinkWell in 2016 for secondary schools across the United Kingdom, focusing on mental health. He has also published his book, "The Stranger on the Bridge: My Journey from Despair to Hope" and "Pill After Pill: Poems From A Schizophrenic Mind" will be published in 2020.
Jonny Benjamin has over 42,400 followers on Twitter and over 12,300 subscribers on YouTube. 
His website can be accessed here.
Mark Henick Mark Henick is considered to be a popular mental health influencer, advocate, and strategist. Henick regularly talks to people about mental illness, mental health, advocacy, suicide, recovery, and hope. In most of his talks, he draws on his professional and personal experiences with the mental health system to open the minds of people and bring awareness about "the societal stigma against mental illness".  
Mark Henick's TEDx talk segment titled "Why We Choose Suicide" has over 5.9 million views and currently is one of the most-watched videos online. He also hosts a podcast titled "So-Called Normal" where he talks with various guests on mental health, anxiety, pain, and resilience. 
Mark Henick's work has been featured in several media publications such as CNN, The Sun, the Chicago Tribune, Entertainment Tonight, Reader's Digest, The Epoch Times, Trud, and AsiaOne. He has also appeared in numerous radio, online, and print features, and has appeared in over a hundred TV segments. 
He has over 19,300 followers on Twitter and there are over 23,000 tweets around mental health on his Twitter page.
Mark Henick's website can be accessed here and his LinkedIn profile can be accessed here. 
Dr. Alice Boyes Dr. Alice Boyes is an acclaimed author of two books, "The Anxiety Toolkit" and "The Healthy Mind Toolkit". Her first book, The Anxiety Toolkit, made it into the Wall Street Journal's bestseller list. 
Dr. Alice Boyes also writes for the blog, Psychology Today, in her segment titled "In Practice" where she discusses various aspects of mental health such as anxiety, pain, and depression. Her articles have garnered over 11 million views in total. Her work was also featured in Good Magazine and Harvard Business Review. 
She has over 11,500 followers on Twitter and has posted about 5,255 tweets so far. 
Dr. Alice Boyes' website can be accessed here and her LinkedIn profile can be accessed here. 
Therese Borchard Therese Borchard is a mental health advocate and writer whose mission is to provide "a light in the darkness and help people feel less alone in their struggle for wellness". She has appeared on shows such as ABC News Now and Fox & Friends and has authored various articles on mental health for several national publications such as USA Today, O Magazine, and Psychology Today. 
Therese Borchard has authored two books titled "The Pocket Therapist: An Emotional Survival Guide" and "Beyond Blue: Surviving Depression & Anxiety and Making the Most of Bad Genes". 
Therese Borchard has been named as one of the top 10 influencers by ShareCare in the Online Depression Community. 
On her blog, Therese Borchard writes primarily about depression and anxiety in a relatable and straightforward fashion, including her own struggles with mental health, working with various doctors, managing medications, and exploring alternative therapies. 
She has 6,773 followers on Twitter. 
Therese Borchard's website can be accessed here and her LinkedIn profile can be accessed here. 
Dr. Jessica Clemons Dr. Jessica Clemons is an acclaimed psychiatrist who has been recognized as a leader in advocating for wellness and mental health and works towards reducing the societal stigma primarily within the black community. She utilizes the various social media platforms to educate society and lead conversations on mental health and illness. 
Dr. Jessica Clemons was selected to be showcased on VH1's show, "In Session Live: With Dr. Jess", where she was the first to provide live therapy. She has been featured in numerous media outlets such as ABC News, CNN, Essence, The Breakfast Club, and Forbes where she speaks about mental health, coping with grief, abuse, pain, and stress. She has obtained a 70.09% engagement rate on YouTube for her videos on "In Session Live: With Dr. Jess". 
Dr. Jessica Clemons has garnered 3,238 followers on Twitter and has over 64,100 followers on Instagram. 
Her website can be accessed here and her LinkedIn profile can be accessed here. 
Research StrategyWe began our search by looking into industry-specific reports, from websites such as Forbes and Influencer Intelligence, that provided a list of some top mental health influencers and bestselling authors in the world. We obtained various lists of key influencers who are currently leading conversations about mental health on their social media accounts, blogs, and books. Each influencer from these lists was individually researched and five key mental health advocates were selected. The identified individuals have gathered a large audience over time and have made a significant contribution to society in advocating for mental health and working to reduce stigma. The key influencers have been presented in terms of the number of followers on their social media accounts. 